UK schools are facing some big challenges. In addition to a shortage of teachers, particularly in secondary schools, the student population is growing. We’re not just talking about increased class sizes, which is probably more a symptom rather than the problem itself. In fact, a report from BBC News points to two main reasons for the growing number of pupils: Birth rate and funding cuts.
The overall student population is expected to increase by more than eight percent, while secondary schools can expect an increase of nearly 20 percent — or 534,000 pupils — by 2026. Some secondary schools are already feeling the pressure: Recent reports from the Department for Education indicate that 62 percent of state secondary schools had larger classes than two years before.
One of the big reasons being cited is increased birth rates, that started in 2002. As a result of this baby boom of sorts, there are now more students entering secondary school at 11, than there are students leaving at 16. Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, notes that secondary schools will feel the most pressure and there’s real urgency in these numbers.
There’a evidence pointing to funding cuts as a contributing factor for growing class sizes. Data from the DfE indicates that the total education expenditure of £86.3 billion in 2016-17 is 2.3 percent less than it was in 2012-13. What’s more, there were 2,602 fewer schools in 2016-17 as compared to 2000-01.
In other words, as the number of students has increased, there has been a real decrease in funding and the number of schools; and it doesn’t help that teacher recruitment just isn’t keeping up. But Barton says the impact is real on students and teachers: Students get less individual support while teachers deal with added pressures and increased workloads.
Of course, some areas are more impacted than others. For instance, in York the class size rose by nearly three students per class — from 18 pupils in 2015-16 to 21 last year. In Barnsley, Thurrock, Newham and Leicester the increases were even bigger, with Barnsley packing more than 24 pupils in its classrooms, and Thurrock more than 23.
There are already a few solutions in the works. In April education secretary Justine Greening announced that the government would be providing the school system with £2.4bn to help cope with growing demand. Not only will these funds help create more than 600,000 spaces for students, it’ll also fuel expansion and improvements for schools throughout the country. In fact, work has already started on at least one school, relocation of another, and a new primary school in Edinburgh has been approved.
Funding is one of the biggest challenges facing UK schools right now, but it’s only one. Other challenges include recruiting and retaining teachers, the impact of technology and growing the leadership pipeline. All of these issues are already starting to converge as UK schools wrestle with the influx of new students. For headmasters, the biggest challenge will be helping teachers cope with the pressures and changes they’ll experience in coming years.
Hi, I’m Dr Ioan Rees; thank you for reading this article.
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